From Co-Creation to Co-Leadership: Macron’s Visit Signals India–France Transformation
- Joydeep Chakraborty
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
In shifting currents, anchors matter, and Indo-French diplomacy is one such pivot.
What is unfolding this week is bigger than a state visit. From 16 to 22 February 2026, India hosts a convergence of political leadership, technological collaboration, industrial engagement, and cultural diplomacy that signals a profound evolution in the India–France relationship. This is not a ceremonial reaffirmation. It is an implementation decade with a structural acceleration toward shared innovation, autonomy, and strategic influence.
Innovation as the Backbone of Foreign Policy
At the heart of this intensifying engagement is French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit from 17 to 19 February, invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yet the visit is just one node in a broader ecosystem spanning Bangalore, Mumbai, and New Delhi, involving over 110 French companies across AI, aerospace, clean energy, design, and advanced industries.
Innovation is no longer an afterthought but the backbone of bilateral diplomacy. In Bangalore, nearly 40 French companies participate in a dedicated AI delegation organized with Mission La French Tech. Their interactions with Indian tech incubators, public institutions, and research centres illustrate a strategic shift: France is embedding itself into India’s innovation ecosystem.
In 2025, several French AI firms partnered with Indian incubators in Bengaluru to co-develop AI solutions for agriculture and healthcare, combining French expertise in ethical AI with India’s large-scale data infrastructure. This collaboration illustrates how bilateral cooperation translates into tangible, citizen-impacting projects.
Artificial intelligence emerges as a central axis. France champions responsible AI governance globally, while India consolidates its position as a digital power and a voice for the Global South. Together, they are reducing dependence on dominant tech ecosystems, shaping standards around transparency, accountability, and development-oriented applications.
The India AI Impact Summit (16–20 February) will showcase this collaboration, with France hosting the largest national pavilion at Bharat Mandapam with a 436 m² space featuring 24 exhibitors. President Macron’s participation continues the trajectory set by the 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris, cementing the countries as joint architects of global AI governance.
For India, the partnership strengthens access to European research networks and startup mobility. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) collaborates with French institutions like INRIA and CNRS in machine learning, robotics, and sustainable technology, producing joint publications and prototypes. For France, India provides legitimacy and influence in shaping AI norms, bridging Europe and the Global South.
The Year of Innovation 2026: Institutionalising Cooperation
Innovation is more than events, as it is structural. On 17 February in Mumbai, Macron and Modi will inaugurate the India–France Year of Innovation 2026, a year-long initiative spanning deep tech, clean energy, startups, academic research, and cultural exchange.
Twenty-two leading French companies will join the Official Mission led by Business France, signalling that economic cooperation is strategic, not symbolic. Markets matter, but ecosystems matter more. Bilateral trade recently crossed €15 billion, with France ranking among India’s top defence suppliers for over two decades and over 1,000 French companies employing 300,000 people directly or indirectly.
The initiative aligns with the Horizon 2047 Roadmap, a long-term strategic framework guiding bilateral relations through India’s centenary of independence. Discussions will cover defence, technology, climate transition, civil nuclear collaboration, space, education, and mobility. This roadmap anchors cooperation within decades-long planning, moving beyond episodic diplomacy.
Notably, the Jaitapur Nuclear Project exemplifies this long-term partnership. French reactor technology combines with Indian construction expertise, showcasing decades of energy cooperation that reinforce trust and industrial synergy.
Defence Cooperation: From Procurement to Co-Production
While innovation dominates headlines, defence remains a foundational pillar. India and France conduct regular military exercises like Varuna (naval), Garuda (air), and Shakti (army), and have been building operational trust over decades. The Indian Air Force operates 36 Rafale aircraft, marking a leap in technological capability. Defence cooperation is no longer just procurement, but co-production, knowledge transfer, and shared autonomy.
France offers flexibility and political reliability, without imposing rigid geopolitical conditions. For India, diversified partnerships strengthen sovereign decision-making and reinforce a doctrine of multi-alignment.
For France, India is a long-term industrial partner, particularly in aerospace and maritime capabilities, enhanced by France’s unique Indo-Pacific presence, including territories like Réunion and New Caledonia.
The annual India–France naval exercises, conducted since 1983, further illustrate how strategic trust is built through sustained operational engagement rather than rhetoric alone.
Beyond Technology: Cultural and Design Diplomacy
Modern strategic partnerships extend beyond hard power. France is the Country of Honour at India Design ID, presenting “Art de Vivre à la Française” with sixteen French design brands in a 350 m² immersive space. Lifestyle industries, creative economies, and people-to-people exchanges complement high-tech and defence engagement, reinforcing a multidimensional approach to influence.
India hosts one of the largest French expatriate communities in Asia, adding a human layer to these interactions. This week’s agenda, spanning AI summits, industrial missions, defence dialogue, and design showcases, exemplifies a comprehensive diplomatic strategy that recognises influence across ecosystems.
Structural Shift Toward Multipolar Alignment
Two sovereign powers, shaping a sovereign agenda. The significance of this week lies not in the number of events, but in what they signal. India and France are entering a structural phase anchored by technological sovereignty, industrial co-creation, and geopolitical autonomy.
Cooperation in AI, cyber, defence production, clean energy, and digital infrastructure reflects a shared commitment to reducing dependency on dominant global powers. France respects India’s sovereign decision-making while India positions France as a trusted Western partner in its Indo-Pacific strategy.
Bilateral agreements extend beyond symbolic gestures. Prime Minister Modi’s 2025 visit to France produced over a dozen deals in defence, AI, and space, and Macron’s visit continues this momentum. Initiatives like the International Solar Alliance, launched jointly in 2015, now include over 100 countries, illustrating the global reach of bilateral collaboration.
From Symbolism to Implementation
In a fragmented global order, India and France demonstrate that durable partnerships are built on trust, convergence, and institutional depth and not just alignment politics. Macron’s visit is a strategic affirmation that the India–France relationship has matured into an axis of innovation, autonomy, and coordinated global influence.
If implemented effectively, this cooperation phase will deepen bilateral ties and position the two nations as co-shapers of responsible AI governance, Indo-Pacific stability, and next-generation industrial ecosystems. From co-creation to co-leadership, this partnership exemplifies how strategic foresight translates into real-world impact.
In shifting currents, anchors matter, and Indo-French diplomacy is one such pivot. This week, the relationship is not just celebrated but operationalised, signalling a partnership built for decades, not days.